


Jason get’s struck by lighting

by BatBoyBlog



Category: DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Shazam! (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Red Hood - Freeform, enlightening, lighting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-18 08:59:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16991997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatBoyBlog/pseuds/BatBoyBlog
Summary: I’ve always had a problem with the Red Hood, and I liked the Wizard Shazam talking to Jason, and showing how even gun and murder Jason is a good person on a bad path.





	1. Part 1

Jason checked his guns again, close to the hundredth time so far. Standing on a roof top over Gotham felt both familiar and strange. The sky line hadn’t changed since he was away Gotham still had the smell of trash, wet dog, the vague chemical smell of cleaning supplies. Under that was gun smoke, sweat, desperation, and blood. Gotham panted under his feet a great and horrible animal. When he’d been Robin that’d been exciting, made him feel like he was riding a tiger. 

Now, now it was unsettling, scary. The guns were comforting, but still strange. Last time he’d been on the streets of Gotham he’d been over a foot shorter. His costume had been thin with a little cape and short shorts. Now he was wearing body armor head to toe, his helmet covered his whole head. He must have been crazy to go out as Robin with no armor. All the body armor helped the fear, the fear of these streets. He looked at the guns to reassure himself, he didn’t need to get close to any of the rogues, he could just shoot them, no risk of getting hit. 

He put them away and dived off the roof firing off a line at the last second. Even this part was different his instincts were wrong, his body was used to being smaller, lighter. Still it wasn’t bad, he could almost remember the old magic of being Robin, the flying. 

Rain started to fall as Jason landed on a roof over looking Gotham City Park. The rain made the wet dog and blood smells of the city worse. Jason look down at the baseball fields on the edge of the park and cast his mind back to before Bruce. He’d been on an inner city little league team once, didn’t last. All the same he still had some happy memories of games, no idea if he’d won or lost, or really much of the game play. No what he remembered was the crisp white uniform, the first perfect set of clothes he owned, and sitting in the dugout with the other boys. 

Jason was so lost inside his own head he almost missed the tiny figure in the red sweater walking out into the middle of one of the diamond. Jason tapped the side of his helmet zooming in. It was a boy with black hair plastered to his head by rain. He was maybe 10 or 11 Jason thought, a street kid maybe, though he seemed a little clean and neat for that. Jason heard a rumble of thunder and he felt his gut go cold. 

Saving people hadn’t been his plan for this identity, that wasn’t what the Red Hood was about. Jason would save people by ending the threat to them, fishing cats out of trees for old ladies was Robin’s job, and Robin was dead and replaced. They say old habits die hard, in that moment looking at a black haired boy on the pitcher’s mound looking up at the sky as lighting forked over head, Jason wasn’t the Red Hood any more, he was Robin again.

He dived over the side of building firing a line as he went never taking his eyes off the kid. The boy threw back his head and yelled something, it was lost in the thunder, the screaming wind and the blood pounding in Jason’s ears. Jason saw the bolt of lighting falling from the sky in what felt like slow motion as he crossed the field. The boy in the red sweater turned his head and saw Jason at the last second. Jason had time to realize the boy didn’t look scared, a look of surprise crossing his face as he registered Jason his mouth opening to say something before Jason plowed into him. 

Jason kept forgetting his own strength, he’d hit the kid as hard as it would have taken him as Robin to move a person nearly his own size. Of course now he was 6 feet tall so together they flew half way against the field landing in the grass past the baseline. Jason had felt more than heard the explosion though now his ears were ringing. He rolled over and off the boy to look back, the pitcher’s mound was gone a blacked hole was there now smoking gently into the rain.   
Jason rolled onto his side to look at the kid, the boy was looking up into the rain blinking. 

When he made eye contact with Jason’s reflective red helmet he jerked back real fear in his face. “Wow! wow it’s okay!” Jason said but the voice modulator had been designed to be terrifying and the boy let out a little eep of fright and started to scramble away. Jason jabbed the button on the side of his helmet and it flipped open to show his face. “See? it’s cool I’m not gonna hurt you” he held out his hands, Jason hadn’t had to do this when he was Robin and he didn’t like it. “You okay? he added when the boy didn’t run away. “I was just trying to get home” the boy said in a very small voice. Jason looked at him confused trying to figure out if the kid was in shock. “What’s your name kid?”

“Billy” The kid said. “Nice to meet you Billy” Jason got to his feet and held out his hand to help Billy up. “So where do you live?” Jason asked figuring the kid must live in one of the buildings on the edge of the park. “Um” the kid shuffled his feet “Fawcett City?” he said in a quiet voice. “Fawcett City?” Jason looked at the kid, Fawcett was 5 states away from Gotham. “You a run away?” Jason asked. “Something like that” Billy said looking at him warily. “Jeez kid, why run away to Gotham? this place is a dump, next time go to Metropolis” Jason said with a smile. For the first time Billy laughed an easily smile on his face.

“Okay Billy my man” Jason said slinging his arm over Billy’s shoulder and steering him toward the street. “Here’s what we’re gonna do, I know an all night dinner that doesn’t mind costumed freaks like me and drowned puppies like you. We’re gonna stuff you with pancakes and bacon, then I’m gonna walk you to the gray hound and put you on a bus to Fawcett. Okay?” Billy rolled his eyes but smiled. “Okay costumed freak”

“That’s Mr. Costumed Freak to you buddy boy” Jason said and Billy laughed.


	2. Part 2

Jason had been the Red Hood for a few months. It was going reasonably well, all things considered. That first night, with the kid, he’d worried that he’d get sucked back into being what he’d been before saving people. However he’d managed to largely avoid that, he was saving people by putting down criminals. He knew that was the only way, the most effective path. It helped that not too many civilians looked like they could be his mirror image. Well his mirror image from before, Jason kept looking in the mirror and being shocked by the nearly adult face looking back at him. 

Jason ran along a roof top, he’d been tracking a weapon’s smuggler all night. He wondered if Bruce was aware of the Red Hood yet. He’d kept a low profile, sure he’d killed people, but Gotham was full of murder. Batman only had time for the big beasts of the jungle, and the Red Hood wasn’t one of them, yet. He wasn’t ready for Bruce yet, he would be soon, but not yet. 

It started to rain softly at first but quickly it was pouring down. It didn’t matter to Jason his suit and helmet were water proof. He watched the rain drops roll down the outside of the helmet through the panorama camera. He spotted movement on the side walk below and looked down. Three small figures were huddled together making their way down the street. Jason wasn’t sure why he cared. If it hadn’t been just after 1 in the morning he wouldn’t have given the group of teens a second look. Later he thought maybe it was because he recognized the red sweater the middle figure was wearing.

Jason zoomed in with his helmet camera. There was a tall skinny girl with long dark hair in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, she was maybe 15 or 16. Another boy with short black hair was in a blue sweater and jeans. He was belt over leaning heavily on two wrist mounted crutches, his head had a twist and his mouth drooped on his left side. He looked about 13 or 14 years ago. However it was the smallest figure huddled between the two older children that caught Jason’s attention.

It was the boy from his first night as the Red Hood, wearing the same red sweater. “Jeez kid do you only show up in the rain?” Jason mumbled to himself. He wondered what Billy was doing back in Gotham, looking closely at the kids he was with he clocked the girl as a sister or maybe a cousin. They had the same button nose and small mouth. The other boy didn’t look much like them. Why were two teenagers and a kid out in Gotham after midnight? Jason’s thoughts were interrupted by a roll of thunder.

“oh fuck kid not again” he said. He started moving running along the roof and jumping off. He hit the street in time to see the 3 figures throw their heads back. He thought he heard them yell something, but the rain drowned out any sound. He was running for them as lighting forked down. Jason was caught in a strange moment of deja vu, at once running for the 3 figures and reliving that first night with Billy. This time though he wasn’t fast enough. He took a running leap Billy saw him and held out his arm in a ‘stop’ gesture. Then the lighting hit them, all 4 of them.

It felt like every part of Jason was on fire. His mind exploded in images. A huge mountain floating in the air. A man with a flowing white beard and hair, in a white robe with a staff sitting on the throne. His eyes were a burning blue and looked right into Jason’s soul. He screamed but nothing came out and he was facing a row of horrible statues. They were only vaguely human. He found himself on his knees in front of a snarling horned demon statue, with the word ‘anger’ under it’s feet. “What is your sin Jason Todd?” came an echoing voice. “Is it truly Anger? Maybe it’s Envy?” Jason tried to speak, to move but all he could do is flop over and make a gargled sound. “Do not allow fear and insecurity corrupt your true self” the voice said and Jason really wished this guy would shut up and he could get his fine motor skills back. 

Jason gasped and his eyes flew open. It was totally dark and for a second Jason was back in the coffin underground. Before the thought was even fully formed in his mind he remembered the lighting, being hit. It must have fried the electronics in the helmet, his cameras were out. He punched the emergency release on the back of the helmet and it fell off. He took a deep breath and smelled burned hair, his. He blinked up into the slackening rain and saw three faces bent over him. 

Billy smiled at him and offered his hand to help Jason up. “You really got to stop doing that” Billy said with a laugh as Jason took his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

“GAH!” Jason sat blot up right grabbing at his shoulder. He remembered, bits, a dark alleyway, that kid in the red, a shot, his shoulder burning up. He’d been shot, he was sure of that, but when he took his hand away from his shoulder there wasn’t any blood. Only then did Jason look around. 

He was no longer on the floor of some dirty Gotham alleyway, looking up at the stars. The ground was some kind of rough stone, there were walls and a cave ceiling over his head. “what the fuck?” He said looking around. “We really have to stop meeting this way” said a conversational voice from behind him.

In one smooth motion Jason was on his feet. He spun and drew his gun clicking off the safety as he went and leveled it at where chest height on the average man would be. Jason found himself aiming a few inches over the boy in red’s head. “Billy?” He said looking around the strange rock tunnel “what the fuck?” he repeated. 

Billy smiled “don’t tell any one but that’s just what I said the first time I came here” 

“and where the fuck is here?” Jason said still looking around gun in hand. “Put that away” Billy said nodding at the gun. “why does it make you uncomfortable?” Jason said as he stuffed the gun into his holster. “No, it makes you uncomfortable” Billy said and Jason looked at him. “what are you talking about? oh fuck this is some near death experience dream isn’t it?” 

Billy shook his head “nope, you are on the Rock of Eternity”

“the what?” Jason looked at the kid like he had a second head. “Rock of Eternity, home of the Wizard and source of my powers as Captain Marvel” 

“wait, what? you’re… no, nope, this is a dream, no way is some middle schooler the big red cheese” Billy shrugged “because middle schoolers are never heroes, right Jason?” Jason’s eyes widened “wow! how’d you know my name!” Billy smiled “pays to have a boss who’s an all knowing Wizard” 

“okay say I believe that you are a member of the Justice League after school and we’re on a magic rock, why the fuck am I here?” Billy looked around. “Well” he said carefully “two reasons, one you tried to save my life 3 times, even if the first two times I wasn’t in danger, it’s a debt that needs to be addressed or the universe is unbalanced.”

“okay what’s the second reason” Jason said after a pause. Billy looked uncomfortable. “You’re stuck”

“what?” Jason was confused. Billy looked off into space “how did the Wizard put it? this” he waved at Jason’s Red Hood outfit “isn’t really you, you woke up one morning in the body of a man, but you were really just my age” 

“hey I’m a lot older than you!” Jason said offended. “mmm not really” Billy said looking at him intensely. “Jason Todd died when he was 15, you woke up in a Lazarus Pit 4 years later, do you remember any of that time?” Jason didn’t say anything. “yeah, this, right here” he waved toward the gun “is how a scared kid deals with being an adult”

“oh fuck you, it’s how a realist deals with getting beaten half to death with a crow bar and blown the rest of the way up!” Jason spat. Billy shrugged “If that’s true, you won’t want my offer” Jason looked at him “What offer?” 

“you saved my life, I can give you yours back, well the Wizard can” 

It took Jason a moment to put that together. “wait you’re saying I can like go back in time, make it not happen” Billy shook his head “no, we can’t change the past but we can give you back the years you missed, make you Robin again, if you want” 

“do it” Jason said there was a blinding flash of light.

Jason blinked up at the sky as it started to rain gently. Jason had been on enough dirty Gotham streets to know the feel of slim and old chewing gum, against his skin. His skin? he shouldn’t have felt it on his bare arms and legs. Jason slowly lifted his arm and looked at it. He was wearing a large green glove with bare arms. His arms were no longer bulky with muscles but skinny and he’d lost his arm hair. “what the fuck?” He said but his voice cracked at the end. 

Jason slowly got to his feet and looked himself over. He was in his old Robin costume. “Oh come on you had put me in the pixie boots?” Jason said to the sky, the only reaction was for the rain to pick up.


End file.
